Salted Caramel Cookies are chocolate chip cookies with a caramel center baked with salt sprinkled on top for a sweet and salty treat. Try my Salted Caramel Sheet Cake for another chocolate and salted caramel dessert.
Salted Caramel Cookies
It all starts with the perfect chocolate chip cookie in this salted caramel cookie recipe. Then, the cookie is taken to a new, flavorful level with caramel added to the cookie batter. Finally, speckles of salt are added on top of the cookies and baked for a salted caramel delight.
Cookies Ingredients
Cake Flour: Cake flour brings more softness to cookies. It is lower in protein than all-purpose flour, which gives baked goods a delicate, fine crumb. You can easily make your own homemade cake flour if you don’t have any on hand.
Bread Flour: Bread flour is on the opposite end of the spectrum compared to cake flour in a matter of protein. Bread flour is generally over 12% protein (whereas cake flour is 6-8%), which helps make the dough more sturdy.
Room Temperature Ingredients: Using room temperature ingredients (especially butter and eggs) will help you get the best results when baking these cookies. Butter is at room temperature at 65°F. Don’t put it in the microwave to soften it; simply cut it up into small pieces and let it sit out if you forgot to take it out of the refrigerator.
Adding Chocolate Chips: When adding solid ingredients (like chocolate chips), I prefer to stir them in by hand. If you are using your mixer, mix them in on low for only about 5 seconds.
Caramel Candies: After unwrapping each caramel, roll it into a ball before adding it to each ball of cookie dough. If you leave the caramels as squares, the cookies will not look as perfectly round. If that is not a problem for you, you can just add the cubed caramel to the cookie dough ball. If you are feeling motivated, make your own homemade caramels.
Coarse Salt: Use a large crystal salt (like kosher salt) to add on top of the cookies. Sea salt would also work.
How to Make Salted Caramel Cookies
I love salted caramel candies like my salted caramel fudge. And, with salted caramel being all the rage, it makes sense to add this sweet and salty cookie to the list! To get started, whisk together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Set that aside.
Next, cream the room temperature butter and both sugars together. I prefer a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. But, however you cream the butter and sugars, make sure you mix it enough to get a light and fluffy mixture. Then, add the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Just like the butter, make sure the egg is also at room temperature. Cold eggs can curdle the batter.
After the eggs and vanilla have been added, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until combined. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips by hand. Once the dough is ready, use a 2-3 tablespoon scoop to drop the dough onto a cookie sheet.
In each scoop of dough, add the ball of caramel. Wrap the dough around the caramel and place it back on the baking sheet. As I stated earlier, if you do not roll out each caramel square (and just add the squares of caramel to the dough), the cookies will come out looking a little out of shape. But, again, if that is fine with you, just add the caramel squares to each ball of cookie dough.
Finally, sprinkle the coarse salt over each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Serve (and eat) while the cookies are warm. If the cookies cool completely, warm them up in the microwave for 15 seconds before biting into them. (Trust me on that…I bit into a cooled cookie and it was tough to bite through the hardened caramel.)
Freezing Cookies
Cookie Dough
Most cookie doughs are great for freezing. To freeze the dough, scoop the batter onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Place the dough balls with the caramel centers in the freezer for 1-2 hours. After the dough is completely frozen, store them in a freezer-safe zipped bag until ready to bake. To bake from frozen, simply add a couple of minutes to the baking time.
Baked Cookies
If you have already baked these Salted Caramel Cookies, let them cool completely before freezing. Place the cooled cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet. Put them in the freezer for 1-2 hours. After they have frozen completely, place them in a freezer-safe container. If they are stored in layers, separate each layer with parchment paper.
Looking for More Cookie Recipes?
Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cheesecake Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1⅔ cups (208g) cake flour
- 1⅔ cups (208g) bread flour
- 1¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1½ teaspoon coarse salt
- 1¼ cups (2½ sticks or 284g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1¼ cups (225g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 24 caramel candies, unwrapped and shaped into balls
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt, for garnish
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
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Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy (3 to 5 minutes).
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Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla.
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Slowly add dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips by hand.
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Drop spoonfuls (2-3 tablespoons) of dough onto a baking sheet.
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Place caramel in center and form dough around the caramel candy. Place back on the baking sheet.
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Sprinkle cookies with salt. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
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Let cookies cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack. Serve warm. If the cookies have cooled completely, warm them up in the microwave for 15 seconds to soften the caramel.